This invention relates to a machine for compacting snow, and more particularly relates to a machine for compacting up to a truckload of snow in one series of operations.
In cold climates, the buildup of snow on city streets and in parking lots and the removal of such snow is traditionally an immense problem facing inhabitants. Traditionally, snow removal in cities has involved plowing snow to the side of the roadway or parking area and removing the same by using a snow blower, front end loader or other such device to fill dump trucks which in turn carry the snow to an appropriate dumping ground. The costs of such an operation are immense. One of the main costs is in rental and operation of the dump trucks which haul the snow away. Any reduction of the time these trucks must stand by while they are waiting to be filled or while they are receiving a full load of snow, or reduction in the number of runs they must make between the snow removal area and the dump will result in cost savings for the entire operation.
Because of the compactability of snow, it has been recognized that one of the means to reduce the number of trips such trucks must make has been to provide snow compaction means at the snow removal site so that the truck is loaded with compacted snow to haul away. Snow compacting devices have been described in Breckbill, U.S. Pat. No. 3,791,053, issued Feb. 12, 1974; Newell, Canadian Pat. No. 957,559 issued Nov. 12, 1974; Broman, Canadian Pat. No. 985,951, issued Mar. 23, 1976 and Huckill, Canadian Pat. No. 714,752, issued Aug. 3, 1965.
The snow compacting devices described in these patents of Newell, Broman and Huckill all require at least two sets of compacting rams, one for compacting in a horizontal direction and the other for compacting in a vertical direction. The compacting chambers must be therefore carefully located and machined, and the hydraulic actions of the two rams carefully coordinated, to permit the machines to operate effectively.
Breckbill, on the other hand, proposes a device for feeding snow through a restricted section in an elongated hollow housing in order to compact the snow. As the snow must be constantly passed through the restriction in the housing this greatly limits the degree of compaction which can be achieved by this device.
None of the snow compacting devices described and illustrated in these references because of the massive size and complexity of the hydraulic systems which would be required, is practical or economically feasible for compacting blocks of snow of a size which would in one deposit fill a dump truck.
It is an object of the present invention to provide such a machine which will permit compacting of a block of snow up to the size of the load carrying space of a dump truck. It is a further object of the present invention to provide an economical snow compacting machine having a single, hydraulically operated blade operating in an enclosed compacting chamber.